Grief and sorrow grips relatives of slain Canadian Muslim family

The sentencing hearings of Nathaniel Veltman for the 2021 murder of four Muslim family members in Canada is illustrating the deep sorrow of their relatives and the increased fear of visible minorities in the country.

Those feelings were clear in several victim impact statements read in a London, Ontario courtroom on Thursday.

Nearly 70 friends, family and community members have asked to deliver remarks.

That number is "unprecedented" in a Canadian court case.

Veltman was found guilty for the murder of the Afzaal family by a jury in November.

Prosecutors argued that he deliberately ran down the Pakistani-Canadian family at a pedestrian crossing while they were walking together on 6 June, 2021. They said Veltman had targeted the Afzaals because of their identity.

Salman Afzaal, 46, and his wife Madiha Salman, 44, were killed in the attack. Their daughter Yumna Afzaal, 15, and Mr Afzaal's 74-year-old mother, Talat Afzaal, also died.

The couple's son, then-nine years old, was seriously hurt but survived.

Family members and friends took turns delivering statements about how the murders affected them on Thursday. Veltman sat inside the courtroom, dressed in all black and remaining expressionless.

The remarks have been scheduled over the course of two days. Thus far, the statements have highlighted the irreparable grief and harm experienced by the relatives and friends of the Afzaals - especially the family's orphaned son.

"Nothing and no one can replace what he has lost," Madiha Salman's mother, Tabinda Bukhari, said.

Some described the feeling when they discovered that their family members were being described as "victims" and their deaths investigated as hate crimes.

"They are not merely statistics. They were living, breathing human beings," Ms Bukhari said.

Others, like Talat Afzaal's daughter Ayesha Shaukat, often held back tears as they addressed Veltman directly.

"I cannot fathom the pain she endured when you harmed her," Ms Shaukat said, referring to her mother who was killed.

"Standing here," she added, "I tell you that you took something incredibly precious from us."

The Afzaal family moved to London, Ontario from Islamabad, Pakistan in 2007. Many relatives said the family had offered them support when they followed them to Canada.

Salman Afzaal was remembered as a hard-working physiotherapist, devoted husband, and a devout Muslim. His wife, Madiha Salman, was described as a keen student who never appeared disconcerted when she was the only woman in her PhD engineering classes.

Their daughter, Yumna, was an artist who community members said had a bright smile and creative spirit. Her grandmother, Talat Afzaal, was remembered as the steady and loving family matriarch.

Some commented on their new-found fears of being targeted for being visibly Muslim in Canada, a country that they once viewed as a safe haven.

"As I wait for any intersection to cross the road, all four of them join me," Ms Bukhari said. "These haunting images will be with me for the rest of my days."

While Veltman has been found guilty of murder, Judge Renee Pomerance must still decide whether his crime can also be characterized as an terrorism.

His murder convictions carry a lifetime in prison, though his sentence could change if the terrorism element is added.

A formal sentencing hearing has been scheduled for 23 January.